Cocoa of Excellence / 50 BEST 2019

Notably dark in colour. Aroma is of chocolate and dark wood. Flavour yields a spice note that gently overlays the chocolate and combines with some yellow, sweet fresh fruits without acidity present. Very smooth and melts quickly in the mouth. Finish is of chocolate with gentle, mild spices.

Mild chocolate and herbal aroma. Uniquely soft, fast melting texture that delivers flavour with a "pop!" Smooth, complex chocolate mélange with notable floral, jasmine flower notes and a green herbal undertone. Some orange blossom notes as well that finish smoothly and float on the palette.

Rich brown colour with a trace of yellow hues. Mild chocolate aroma, a trace of dried fruits and nuts. Flavour of mild fruit acidity with mild chocolate, tropical and yellow fruits. Later taste has a pleasant roasted nut along with mild caramel sweetness. Slight nut skins astringency at the end. Smooth finish.

Uniquely light, almost caramel in colour. Mild fruit acidity with under ripe berry and yellow/orange tropical fruit notes. Chocolate emerges mild in the centre taste and is followed by mild fruit acidity mixed with a trace of nuts and a clear nut skins flavour and astringency. Finish is short and of chocolate.

Very light in colour with mild fruit and nuts aroma. Flavour is uniquely very low in chocolate! Early gentle fruit acidity that is both citric and tropical. Mild nuts and nut skins emerge later with a mild caramel/panela note. Finish is very short and has an undercurrent of nut skins.

Deep rich dark colour and aroma that is a mild, rich chocolate. Flavour is a complex presence of dark earthy notes blended with herbal green notes. Some floral flowers in the finish. Astringency is pleasant and velvety. Aftertaste is a deep, rich chocolate and long lasting floral notes.

Dark colour with slight burgundy hue. Very mild aroma with chocolate and dried fruit notes. Smooth chocolate emerges quickly in the flavour and runs deep with some browned fruit/raisin notes. Balanced bitterness and a velvety astringency along with a trace of floral notes and nut skins finish.

Interesting reddish rust hues in colour. Very mild aroma. Flavour presents an early display of floral flowers combined with green herbal notes. Chocolate initially low but builds throughout the flavour profile and into the end/aftertaste where it combines with the floral. Complex and balanced.

Very mild aroma with chocolate and browned fruits. Chocolate emerges gradually and smoothly with a centre taste of dates and raisins. Dried herbs, trace of green and floral notes combine in the mid-taste followed by mild nut skins in the later taste. Has a deep character overall with an umami effect.

Lighter brown colour with yellowish hues. Mild aroma with nuts, browned fruits and woody notes. Mild but complex, balanced flavour with browned fruit (dates) blended with sweet caramel sugar. Fresh roasted nuts emerge as a background offering a low bitterness and astringency. Chocolate itself is very mild.

Medium brown colour with slight reddish hues and aroma is mild dark wood and herbal green notes. Flavour is a moderate cocoa along with some mild, pleasant acetic and lactic acidity. Browned fruit is more of a darker prune and slightly over-ripe fruit. The late taste is a long chocolate finish.

Clean, mild chocolate, wood and nut aroma. Smooth mild chocolate arises and continues throughout and balances the bitterness and astringency. Clear date/raisin notes with mild fresh yellow fruits. Finish has a nut/nut skins element with a medium long finish with lasting nut and chocolate notes.

Aroma is mild chocolate with some herbal browned notes. Flavour is bright overall with cooked browned fruits (prunes, dates) blended with aromatic floral and spice notes. Mild but bright fresh fruit tartness in centre taste with a sweet, clean finish. Complex and distinctive.

Smooth rich chocolate aroma with dark raisin notes. The flavour mirrors the aroma as the chocolate erupts along with the dark raisins that combine a bit of light roasted coconut notes. Robust but with balanced bitterness and astringency. Aftertaste is long and has hints of floral and green notes.

Rich dark brown colour with a chocolate/spice aroma. Complex profile but dominated by the early chocolate character blended with tobacco spice notes in the aroma. Has a trace of balsamic acetic notes along with browned fruit, raisin and prune notes. Very smooth texture and flavour in the mouth.

Clear chocolate aroma with mild spice notes. Chocolate flavour emerges smoothly and continues to build into the centre taste. Some mild spice/tobacco spice notes are present, and the sample has some natural background sweetness. Dried fruit notes appear in the late taste, and the finish is long in chocolate.

Very dark in colour. Mild aroma of dark fruits, dried fruits and some herbal green notes. Slow flavour evolution but a smooth and harmonious profile. Centre taste of mild green herbal notes and floral flowers, with dark wood resins. Moderately intense chocolate that grows in intensity throughout. Complex, long finish.

Mild chocolate and fresh fruit in the aroma. Aroma is carried into the flavour with the same apple/banana presence as fresh fruit is blended with the undercurrent of chocolate. Chocolate is smooth and rich. Late taste has some nut notes and the chocolate persists into the after-taste.

Medium to light brown colour with yellowish/rust hues. Raisin aroma. Complex blend of chocolate with a blended tart fruits, dried and browned fruit (dates). Has a late taste with a nut and nut skins note. Texture is very soft and melts quickly in the mouth. Very smooth with long finish.

Aroma is very mild with chocolate and faint spice notes. Clear chocolate flavour presence with mild fruit and acetic acidity and some dried and browned fruit notes. Slightly mouth drying, banana skins astringency note in the last half. Chocolate persists throughout and into a long aftertaste.

Mild overall aroma. Direct and early chocolate flavour that builds to the middle. Mid-taste picks up significant dark wood notes along with some bitterness balanced against the chocolate. Has some mild tobacco spice notes that last into the finish along with chocolate, bitterness and astringency.

Medium brown colour with reddish-rust hues. Mild initial chocolate aroma with herbal, green notes. Bright chocolate centre presence with green herbal notes and a trace of flowers. Fascinating umami notes along with dark wood flavour notes. Aftertaste is long lasting and chocolate persists.

Very mild aroma with nut notes. Flavour has an early mild fruit acidity with slightly under-ripe berries. Centre taste is clear roasted nut and nut oil notes along with a coconut sugar character. Quite different in its presentation. Chocolate emerges in the later taste and lasts into finish.

Rich dark colour and a rich chocolate aroma. Smooth chocolate flavour development that is clear and distinct with a background of dark fresh fruits, herbal green and fragrant earthy notes with floral flowers. Very balanced and complex, and the aftertaste maintains the mélange of flavours in with the chocolate.

Chocolate aroma with dried fruits. Fast and smooth, easy melt with a gradual emergence of chocolate blended with dried and browned fruits (dates). Smooth, velvety astringency that caresses the mouth and allows the fruit notes to blossom. Maintains a very long and smooth choco-late aftertaste.

Raisin, date and browned fruit aroma. Rich chocolate base develops smoothly and gradually. Nut and nut skin astringency emerges with the increasing chocolate in the centre taste along with dark brown fruit notes. Finish maintains the blend of chocolate with nut skins character.

Medium to light brown colour with reddish hues. Raisins, wood and nut aroma. Flavour is smooth developing chocolate with blended browned fruit, raisin and dates. While not a complex flavour profile, there is a strong harmony between the chocolate and browned fruit that is balanced, clear and dominant.

Colour is strikingly dark with burgundy undertones in the hue. Very mild woody aroma. Melts very slowly in the mouth with chocolate blended with a velvety astringency and mild green herbal notes along with floral flowers that persist into the aftertaste, which is long and pleas-antly persistent.

Rich chocolate aroma with dark tree fruits. Incredibly smooth profile with emerging pronounced chocolate with a smooth, balanced dark tree fruit (plum) and dried, browned fruit (sweet dates). Chocolate is maintained as clear and present throughout and into a long, smooth aftertaste. Uniquely blended.

VERY light, almost caramel in colour. Very, very mild aroma with nuts. Flavour is uniquely low in chocolate but balanced with nuts and dried fruit along with some nut skins and gentle astringency. Mild caramel/panela notes are present in the late taste. Very soft melt texture. Very different.

Rich brown colour with slight purple hues. Mild aroma with a complex, smooth balanced flavour. Chocolate emerges smoothly and gradually and is balanced with a velvety astringency with centre notes of green herbs, resinous woods, mild dark tree fruits (plums) and yellow tropical fruits. Finish is short and ends smoothly.

Aroma is bright with fruit and raisin notes and a balsamic character. Rich emergence of robust chocolate flavour that is quickly joined by mild balsamic browned acetic notes with fresh and browned fruits. Astringency is slightly high from the mid-taste and lasts with the chocolate into the aftertaste.

Uniquely dark in colour with very, very mild faint chocolate aroma. Melts quickly in the mouth delivering an initial chocolate at moderate intensity along with mild dark wood and dark raisin notes. Green herbal and floral undertones emerge in the middle. Very long lasting, mild chocolate finish.

Medium brown colour with hints of a yellow hue. Aroma has rich chocolate and brown fruit notes. Exquisitely smooth flavour profile with mild floral notes balanced with brown dates and raisins and all tied together with a rich underlying chocolate that emerges gradually but comes to dominate the finish.

Medium brown colour with rust hues. Date and brown fruit aroma with a trace of floral flowers. Smooth chocolate flavour development in-corporating browned fruit (date) notes. Dark wood and green herbal notes combine with a rich earthy centre taste. Complex and smooth fla-vour profile with slightly astringent finish.

Medium to lighter brown colour. Aroma of chocolate, dates and raisins. Complex, balanced flavour of mild chocolate with browned fruits (dates and light raisins). Mild fresh fruit centre taste with a trace of fruit acidity and yellow fresh fruits. Trace of floral, green and light wood notes. Smooth lasting finish.

Medium brown with yellowish hues in colour. Aroma of fresh fruits with a trace of spice. Flavour has a smooth chocolate emergence with an early mild fruit tartness and citric and tropical fruits with under-ripe berries. Mild nut notes. Long lasting finish that is well blended. Smooth melting texture.

Medium to lighter brown colour with yellowish hues. Very mild chocolate aroma. Flavour emerges gradually with a moderate chocolate blend-ed with some mild acetic and fruit acidity with yellow fresh fruits. Late taste has a slightly astringent, dry nut skins note. Melt in the mouth is particularly smooth.

Light to medium brown colour with an aroma of light wood, nuts in shell and mild chocolate. Mild chocolate with fruit acidity and mild acetic notes along with fresh yellow fruits and dried fruits. Smooth finish with some mild nut skins astringency but ends quickly. Very smooth texture.

Mild chocolate, dried fruit and faint floral flowers aroma. Smooth chocolate flavour emerging initially blended with floral flower notes. Balanced date browned fruit character mid-taste with fresh fruit and a hint of tropical fruits. Late taste of roasted nut and chocolate lasting into the aftertaste.

Medium to lighter brown colour with yellowish/orange hues and an aroma of browned fruit (raisins and prunes). Flavour has a smooth, gradual build, and the chocolate gradually expands to encompass the browned fruits (raisins, prunes and some dates). Very slight tartness. Smooth profile in flavour and texture.

Unusual tobacco spice and mild chocolate aroma. Spice and tobacco spice notes emerge simultaneously with smooth chocolate development and present a mélange of complex flavours. Some mild, deep balsamic notes with a dark wood finish the flavour. Very smooth melt in the mouth. Complex, smooth and balanced.

Aroma is of very mild chocolate with nut notes. Decidedly complex but balanced flavour with a trace of fruit acidity, gentle tropical fruits and a mild background chocolate with very low bitterness and astringency. Nut notes emerge mid-taste and flow with nut skins, mild floral notes and a velvety feel.

A rich, dark brown colour. Aroma is of mild chocolate and green wood. Chocolate flavour emerges smoothly but immediately and is then shifted to a green floral and woodsy note including a trace of flowers. Finish is a green floral character combined with an undercurrent of chocolate.

Aroma of mild chocolate and dried fruits. Chocolate flavour emerges as mild with an early fruit acidity presenting tropical, citrus and yellow fruit flavours. Middle taste is one of nuts and nut skins. Finish is smooth and balanced with a persisting fruit character com-bined with chocolate.

Colour is medium brown with slight yellow and reddish-rust hues. Mild chocolate aroma. Mild fruit and balsamic acidity that presents citrus, under-ripe mango and currant along with dark raisin and a trace of prune notes in the flavour. Good complexity that blends with the chocolate and lifts it to the finish.

Rich brown colour with slight reddish-rust hues. Mild chocolate aroma. Rich base chocolate flavour emerges slowly and smoothly and combines with a centre taste of mild green herbal, earthy and dark wood notes. Very rich feel in the mouth as well as a smooth, balanced flavour profile.

Aroma of blended chocolate, tart fruit and balsamic acetic notes. Chocolate emerges gradually but brings with it dark tree and yellow fruit notes of plum, apricot and peach preserves. Flavours emerge into a single harmonious mélange that is complex and balanced. Centre taste has mild nut and nut skins notes. Long finish.

Rich, dark colour with reddish-rust hues. Early and quick flavour release with chocolate blended with woody notes, dried fruits, with mild fruit acidity and citrus notes. Some dried herb notes in the late taste. Rich overall impression with a long lasting, deep chocolate aftertaste.

Rich, dark colour with reddish-rust hues. Aroma of chocolate and fermented browned fruit (prunes). Moderate chocolate flavour with browned, fermented fruits (prunes) and slightly over-ripe fruits. Mild earthy centre note with some slight drying astringency like a dry wine. Finish is quite short.